You don't find your book

You build it like a snowman

So anyway, I was scrolling TikTok instead of revising chapter five when I stopped for Devin (below) who promised three years of therapy in sixty seconds. Devin is in my feed for two reasons: 1) TikTok probably knows I need therapy (lol, whatever), and 2) When I was creating Heaven’s character in Undead, I followed a ton of self-help and therapy creators. Heaven, if you haven’t read Undead, is my vampire life coach.

Who knows what this man’s credentials are, but he’s efficient, insightful and he does half his reels without a shirt.

When he said, “You don’t find yourself, you build yourself day by day. Some days you’re leveling up and some days you respawn at square one. Both of them count,” I was like “Yup, that’s how you write a book.” You don’t find it. You build it. Some days you level up and some days you respawn at square one.

Waiting for inspiration isn’t a strategy. In my experience, the more I work, the more ideas I have. Ideas will snowball, but in order for them to do that, you have to start rolling a snowball in the first place.

Let’s break it down with photos of snowmen.

1. This could be you, sitting atop a big messy draft with a look of accomplishment.

2. Just like snow art, writing is discovery. They didn’t know their snowman was going to have a skeleton head until they were almost done.

3. These pics remind me of Widow’s Bay. If you’re reading, thanks for the rec, Jhanteigh! But anyway, make like my kids. If you’re writing a book, incorporate all the ingredients you have lying around: Halloween decorations no one put away (a staple apparently) or some good ideas you have from eavesdropping at Starbucks. Go on a walk. Take a ceramics class. Watch good TV, if you’re too tired to read (me).

Anywho, don’t wait until [insert random time or milestone] to start writing, just start. If you wait until after the holidays, after your kid graduates, after your cat recovers from its UTI (hello, every writer I know!), after you become a more fully realized individual with more time and energy (lol), you’re putting way too much pressure on that day. Just start and don’t expect much of yourself. Low expectations are the key to success in all fields of life.

Some of Devin’s tips are also worth noting:

1. “No one is coming to save you.”

   That’s not entirely true in writing. Sometimes your beta reader, agent, or editor will save your ass from disaster and get you paid, but ultimately, this is your book, your career. Dig in and get ‘er done.

2. “Most of the time it’s not that deep. You’re not cursed. You’re just hungry.”

   If you’re spiraling, put your damn book down, make a snack, go for a walk. Hit that reset button.

On that note, I’m going to work on chapter seven. I’m writing a novelette (15k words) for an anthology I’m self-publishing with fellow authors: Ellie Palmer, Kate Robb, Nikki Payne, Tasha Coryell, Denise Williams, and Tara DeWitt. More on this later. Off to find chapter five because it definitely isn’t going to find itself.

What I’m Reading

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe by Fannie Flag. This is the June selection for Smut U’s book club. Erica, my book club leader, has been doing a “Foundations of Smut” series. We’ve read Julie Garwood, Christine Feehan, Beverly Jenkins, Susan Elizabeth Philips, Jennifer Crusie, and more. SEP actually dropped by. I almost fainted.

If you want to join the book club, lemme know.

I didn’t even know this was a book until Erica put it on our list.

What I’m Watching

I’ve been watching Hacks. This show is soooooo good. The episode where Deborah and Eva pose as a couple—chef’s kiss! I just started Widow’s Bay and can’t wait to get back to it. I have to wait until Terrell is on his next break. We don’t have enough time to watch shows together while he’s working. Emergency services are no joke, people. Oh, and I spent last week crying over Stephen Colbert’s last shows. I always watch The Late Show while I’m cooking. I’ll miss him.

So anyway:

Unfortunately, this pic I took ten years ago is still relevant.

xoxo

Sam